Chapter 76
Well well Kavis Aber pulling something that disgraceful, you still have the nerve to show up here Do you even know witer shame is Marianna’s time was soft, almost sweet, but every word was tipped with venom, as though she’d laced her smile with harts
Kayla had long since learned that nothing good ever came out of Marianna’s mouth. She refused to dignify the comment with a response and simply walked past her without so much as a glance.
Marianna’s face twisted with frustration as the words she’d prepared lodged in her throat. She stamped her foot, muttering bitterly, “Enjoy it while you can. Kayla. Your time’s running out.”
Kayla knocked on the office door. “Ms. Nielsen, you wanted to see me?” Her voice cut through the low murmur of teachers chatting among themselves.
At once, the air shifted. The moment their eyes fell on her, the room thickened with a silence that carried judgment. No one spoke, but their sidelong glances said enough.
Ravenna’s expression was the hardest of them all, her face set in a scowl as dark as a storm cloud.
“Come in.” she said, her voice cold enough to frost the air.
Kayla stepped inside, her expression composed, her pace steady. She stood tall before Ravenna, waiting calmly for what would come next.
Ravenna’s eyes flicked briefly to Kayla’s stomach, and a flash of disgust tightened her features.
When she spoke, her voice was sharp, rising with every word. “Kayla, I know you’re from the Sexton family, and that puts you out of my reach outside these walls. But here, you’re still a student. And as a student, you ought to have some basic sense of dignity, some self–respect.
You rich kids may think scandal is a game, that playing around is nothing new, but you haven’t even graduated yet. And now you’ve dragged this shame into our school, setting a terrible example for your classmates. Don’t you feel any guilt at all?
Kayla had walked in intending to ask for help uncovering who was spreading the rumor. Instead, she was met with nothing but condemnation.
Her patience thinned.
“Ms. Nielsen,” she said evenly, though her voice cut like glass, “I don’t understand what unforgivable crime you think I’ve committed. But to cast aside your role as a teacher and spit insults at me, that, I do find disgraceful.” Her gaze locked with Ravenna’s, cold and unyielding.
In this second life, Kayla had lived by a simple rule–respect for respect, hostility for hostility.
If Ravenna chose to condemn her without evidence, Kayla had no intention of bowing her head.
Ravenna had already been bristling from overhearing her colleagues gossip about the scandal, and Kayla’s defiance only poured oil on the fire.
She hadn’t expected the usually mild–mannered girl to stand her ground, much less glare at her with such icy composure. For one humiliating instant, Ravenna felt a shiver run through her.
The realization that she’d been rattled by a student only enraged her further, especially with her colleagues watching. She slammed her hand down on the desk with such force that the entire, office seemed to shake,
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Chapter 76
“Kayla How dare you speak to me like that? I am your teacher!” she shouted, her voice laced with hysteria.
65 volters
Kayla didn’t flinch. “Exactly. You’re a teacher, which means you should watch your words, not throw baseless accusations at your students or insult them over rumors.”
The retort drew a few startled looks from the other teachers. Ravenna’s face burned with fury, her restraint slipping away.
Oh, stop pretending. Everyone knows!” she spat. “The whole school is talking about it. You’re pregnant, Kayla. And you still have the gall to stand here and deny it?”
She wanted nothing more than to crush Kayla, to claw back her authority by humiliating her.
Kayla gave a short, bitter laugh, though her eyes were nothing but ice.
“You sound so sure,” she said, her voice low and precise, each word edged with steel. “Were you there, Ms. Nielsen? Did you see it happen with your own eyes? Do you have any proof at all?
“Because if you don’t, then what you’ve just said is slander. And I can take you to court for it.”
The words dropped like stones into the silence, deliberate and cold.
Ravenna let out a cold laugh. “Slander? The entire campus forum is plastered with photos of you at the OB–GYN, and everyone’s heard the doctor’s recording. And you still want to call the cops?
“Go ahead. I’d love to see you wriggle your way out of this when the evidence is staring you right in the face.”
Kayla gave a mocking smile as she took in Ravenna’s twisted expression.
In all her years, she had never met a teacher so arrogant, so quick to condemn without even the slightest attempt at fairness.
Ravenna hadn’t even questioned the authenticity of a single post online before passing judgment.
With that thought, Kayla didn’t hesitate. She slipped her phone out of her pocket.
“Well, since you put it that way, I guess I’ll just have to let the police clear my name.
“And maybe I’ll invite the principal too. He ought to see how his star faculty member tears down and humiliates her own students. Her tone carried an edge of mockery, but the calm smile on her lips was laced with unmistakable frost.
Ravenna’s mouth twisted into a disdainful grin, clearly convinced Kayla was bluffing.
But when Kayla’s fingers flew across the screen, dialing the emergency number, and her thumb hovered over the green call button, Ravenna’s face drained of color. Panic flickered in her eyes before anger took its place.
She lunged forward, reaching to snatch the phone from Kayla’s hand.
Kayla, quicker and steadier, sidestepped with ease, the phone secure in her grip. “Ms. Nielsen, what exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Ravenna’s face went rigid, her lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes blazing. “Kayla, haven’t you humiliated yourself enough? How long are you planning to keep this circus going?”
Kayla narrowed her eyes, her voice cutting and cold as steel. “Weren’t you the one who told me to call the police? If you can’t prove my innocence, then I’ll let them investigate. What’s the problem? Afraid of what they’ll find?”
At that, Ravenna’s expression darkened even further. If the police showed up, word would spread that one of her students
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had gotten herself pregnant before graduation, and her own reputation would be in shambles.
Worse, if the principal found out the situation had escalated to the authorities, she might be the one called to account.
“Clear your name” she spat. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I know exactly how this will play out. The mighty Sexton family throws their weight around.
The police take your side, and the so–called truth ends up being nothing but a convenient cover–up. That’s all this is. Just another way to save face.”
